Why is the flight back to Cyprus quicker?

Dear Sir,

I frequently fly to London Heathrow, but what I don’t understand it why it takes longer to get there than get back. Does it just seem like it or is the flight shorter? It must be the same distance afterall.
Kyriakos Constantinou

According to pilot Chrysanthos Hadjichrysanthou, the differences in time are due to the way the earth rotates and the direction the winds blow. The earth rotates counter-clockwise direction when viewed looking down on the North Pole. The importance of the way the Earth rotates is that this determines which way the winds blow – from the west to the east.

So, going to England from Cyprus means the trip is being taken in a westerly direction, from the east to the north-west. Moving against the winds automatically decreases the velocity of the airplane; therefore it takes longer to reach the destination.
On the other hand, a trip from England to Cyprus is taken in an easterly direction, from the west to the south-east. Moving with the winds increases the airplane’s velocity since it is as though the winds are pushing us along and we reach our destination much more quickly.

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